Day Care Funnies

Tillman's routine has certainly been "shaken up" since the start of day care.  He went from 1:1 care to 3:10 care, and he wasn't all that happy about it.  Everyone says that it is the parents that have the biggest adjustment to the concept, and while that might be true to some extent, Tillman has certainly noticed the change.  His eating, sleeping, moods, and poops other things have been effected. 

When I dropped him off this Monday morning, I handed him over to the day care lady.  His poor little lip poked out, and he began to cry.  It made me feel so bad.  This was again a repeat for Nick on Tuesday.  Most days, they say he has an absolute melt down in the morning, and then the afternoons are better.

Yesterday when I picked him up, they said he was "great!"  This is the FIRST time the ladies were smiling and "cooing" at Tillman when we left.  The other days, I think they are glad to see him go?

Since we are into week two at day care, there are some things that I think are just funny. 

1. Since the first day, there is one lady that tells me everyday "Tillman is so gassy!"  She wanted us to get him some Mylicon.  We took a bottle, and just yesterday, they are requesting another bottle.  I know this stuff won't hurt Tillman because anything you can give your child 12 times a day can't be harmful.  However, really...already need another bottle?  Yes, I get it, you think he is gassy! 
By the way, Nick and I haven't use Mylicon since he was 1 month old.  He does fine at home. 

2. Monday I had some extra time, so I stayed and chatted with the ladies.  I specifically asked if he was running low on anything.  They said he still had a good stock.  On Tuesday report card, diapers were highlighted, circled, and checked.  Really?  I just asked about this.  Tillman and I had to run to the store to have some for Wednesday.

3. Booties are required to be worn in the room for "cleanliness."  I think this is great and appreciate them putting that rule in place.  My shoes walk around a hospital all day, and Nick's shoes walk around chemicals and outdoor stuff all day, so I certainly don't want to be walking were Tillman is on the floor especially since he has his hands in his mouth all the time (wow-long sentence).  However, The booties are a pain to put on.  Plus, I don't like reusing ones that have been put on other's shoes (ick!).  I've seen some parents walk in the room with just socks or no shoes.  Apparently, that is breaking the rules.  I got "called down" for this...really, everyone else does it, and you say nothing (got to pick on the newbie?)!  The lady made me feel like a two-year-old.

4.You have to ring a door bell to get in the building.  Again, safety first!  There is a camera at the door, and they buzz you in.  One thing I ponder is how long do I wait until I buzz the bell again.  I stood there for over a minute yesterday (I know, a minute is not that long, but when you are standing there with your hand on the door handle waiting...it is!).  I finally buzzed again, and they immediately let me in.  Next time, I'm waiting 20 seconds!

5. Tillman can sleep standing up in a exersaucer.  He literally "jumps" himself to sleep. When he does this at home, we just let him be.  While it may be funny, odd, and look uncomfortable, he likes it and can sleep an hour or more, so just leave him be.  The ladies think he needs to be in a bed to sleep, so they try to move him.  Of course he wakes up, so that is why the poor child hasn't slept longer than 30 minutes since becoming a "day care kid."

6. Tillman's crib is the ONLY crib in the place that has a swing in it!  I must get a picture of this!  They have figured out that he can sleep in a swing too.  I picked him up on Friday, and he was in his swing in his crib.  The other children were sitting in Bumba seats on the carpet in a circle "playing."  Poor Tillman looked like a "loner" in the corner.  It made me sad!

So...that is that!

A Year Ago...

Wow, what a difference a year can make!  This day a year ago I had a doctor's appointment that changed our lives forever!  We found out at the end of my appointment that I didn't have a virus and all of those stomach cramps were for something special!  The two little lines on the in-office pregnancy test indicated it was positive!  I can remember the lady who did the test running down the hall with it in her hand to show me!  My heart was beating a million miles a minute!  I didn't know what to think (excitement, fear, anxiety)!

And can you believe I didn't blog about it until March?

"Tiny T" has been a true blessing to us.  I do remember life before Tillman, but I certainly cherish what we have now and know that being a mom is what I have always wanted.  I've heard many folks refer to college and pre-married life as "the good ol' days," but I think the birth of Tillman has started my "good 'ol days!"  Nothing can compare to his sweet smile he give us when we pick him up from his crib each morning or his cute laugh when we do "zerberts" on his tummy after a diaper change! 

Man, what a difference a year can make!

5 months 2.12.11

Cheering on Cousin Colin

Tillman turned 5 months on Saturday.  We celebrated by going to Cousin Colin's basketball game.  Tillman enjoyed watching the game.  He paid close attention to the players and the ball.  However, the buzzer was not his favorite, and he let us all know!

Uncle Ricky holding Tillman

Tillman also had a big Valentine's Day too.  He started daycare yesterday. I think he will do just fine, but there will be some adjustment time (for all of us).  The daycare ladies mentioned it would likely take a week or so.  The poor guy cried for 45 minutes straight and only drank 1/2 of the milk that he normally does.  The ladies asked we bring Mylicon, as they were very concerned his tummy hurt.

When Tillman got home he drank two bottles and was exhausted from his day.  He pretty much slept from 5PM to 5:30AM.  Tillman certainly isn't used to a lot of noise.  They mentioned he woke every time another child was crying, he cried when they did, and he just wasn't sure about things.

We know that it is good for him to socialize and be around other children, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard to drop him off.  Nick and I both didn't speak very much when we left the daycare.  It made me teary eyed to leave him in someone else's care.  I think it got to Nick a little too. 

We know he is in good care.  The ladies are very sweet, and when I went for pick up, they gave me a complete run down of the day, and they give him a daily report card too.  They seemed very impressed I didn't call the check up on Tillman during the day (boy, did I want to), but I think they get annoyed by parents calling (I would).

Cousin Colin and Tillman

What's Tillman up to at five months?

-He loves to make "raspberry" sounds (vibrate lips and slobber...the cute kind).  We have a bib on his all the time. 

-He's been introduced to rice cereal, but we've stopped feeding him it until we can add some fruit (need some fiber in that diet).

-Tillman is starting to learn if he cries/gets fussy, we tend to him.  He is starting to play us like his "puppets."

-He is pretty consistent with sleeping through the night (in his crib too).

-Tillman wears a size 2 diaper,  is still in 0-3 mo. clothing, and has a steady diet of "mommy milk"

-Some of his tricks include-rolling over, blowing bubbles and sit-ups/crunches

-Tillman enjoys walks in the BabyBjour and the jogging stroller

-He also has the sweetest smile and laugh too!

The BIG Sleep Transition

Tillman has had a lot of changes in his night time / nap routine.  Not only has he transitioned to from downstairs to now upstairs, but he has transitioned from the Moses basket to his crib!  Way to go, Tillman!

Tillman was quickly approaching the max out point of the Moses basket (his head was touching the top and his legs were scrunching up at the bottom) we noticed last week.  Nick tried him upstairs for one of his naps, and of course, he did fine.  Friday night was his first night in his crib, and Saturday night he slept from 7P-7A!  The news gets even better, last night I put him down in his crib, and he just kicked around and played for at least 30 minutes before going to bed.  He seems to really like it.

We've certainly set up a true night time scene for him in his room--3 night lights and a sound machine on rain.  Who wouldn't sleep good like that?

With this big transition, I've set up the video monitor.  I've gone this long without a monitor because he was right outside our room each night, so I could hear him if he was up.  With being upstairs, I knew I'd want to keep my eye on the little guy.  I love to watch him on the monitor.  Of course, I make sure he is breathing, but we've also had a fun time watching him rotating his body a full 180 degrees through the night.  We lay him at the top of the crib, then he turns his body to have his head and feet touch the bumper, and then through the night, he continues to rotate.  This morning we picked him up out of his crib with his feet at the head of the crib. 

I think he really enjoys the extra room in the crib!

Open Wide

Mom, where's my bottle?

Tillman has been "off and on" with his tolerance of rice cereal.  He got his first taste of it last Saturday.  His first taste, which is pictured, was him getting the "hang of" something being in his mouth.  He still has a pretty strong tongue reflex (or whatever you call it), so he is pushing a lot of the cereal out instead of swallowing.  We think it might be a while until he really prefers the cereal and will begin taking it down.  Frankly, at this point with him pushing it out, it is a MESS!  He is very interested in his hands, so once the hands get in the mouth full of cereal, it is in his eyes, on his clothes, all over his face, and all over us! 

Daddy, what is mommy doing to me?
Put down the camera and help me out!

By the second time we gave him rice cereal, he certainly got the hang of "open wide."  He knows when that spoon is near to open his mouth.  It is really pretty cute.  Once the spoon is in his mouth, his face looks like he is thinking "why did I do that (open my mouth)?" 

Oh, I just don't know about this.

 We are attempting to give him rice cereal once a day (twice on the weekends since we have more time with him).  Sometimes it goes well, other times no so much.  I feel he is ready to transfer to taking down food (cereal).  Tillman is taking down a lot of milk these days (more than I make in a day).  We've even had to pull some out of the freezer (he's received 10 ozs extra the past few days; equaling around ~46 ozs per day/24 hours). 

Bottle, please!

We're going to keep "plugging" away at rice cereal.  The doctor said that by the time we take him to his 6 month appointment, he should be taking down some fruits and veges!  I am sure those will taste a lot better than the rice cereal, but it is important since that is how Tiny T is getting his iron. 

When is this going to stop?

Ok...so maybe this stuff isn't all that bad!

Enjoying the Sunshine

Tillman says thanks to cousins,
Parker and Mason, for the hand-me-down! 

Over the past few weekends, it has been pretty nice weather.  We've been able to get outside for walks, going to the park, and playing on Tillman's big boy toy!  Tillman was introduced to his outdoor play set a couple of weekends ago, and we try to get outside every chance we get to play on it.  We are all looking forward to spring, so we can get outdoors more.  It looks like we might get an early spring since the Groundhog didn't see his shadow yesterday! 

We had a feeling Tillman would enjoy this swing as much as he has enjoyed been addicted to his Little Lamb Swing.  The warm sunshine + the swing = one happy Tillman!  He has been eyeing the slide part of the play set.  I'm sure we'll be tackling that side sometime soon.